Hippolyta was the Queen of the Amazons, a nation of warrior women. Her tiny footsteps refer to the feet of hundreds of tiny metal and plastic soldiers.

Wednesday, 20 April 2016

A timeline of Syldavian history - Part One: From earliest times to the founding of the Kingdom

Prior
to 2000 BCE: the region is populated by a Neolithic culture known as
the Bucket Burial Culture after numerous grave finds of dismembered
skeletons buried in large bucket-shaped clay pots.

2000-1000
BCE: Bronze tools, elaborately engraved stone stele and amber and jet
beads indicate the arrival of a more sophisticated culture from
eastern and central Europe. The remains of stone-walled villages from
this date were found by archaeological digs carried out in the 1950s.
Some later Mycenaean pottery has been found along the coast,
particularly around the southern town of Nokosz (ancient Neocosa).

c.
900 BCE: Artefacts, elsewhere in the Balkans associated with Illyrian
tribes are found in the regions of Klow, Tesznik and Douma.

5th
century BCE: a fragment of a lost work attributed to Herodotus
records that black pelican feathers from the Land of the Sylvans are
much sought out for helmet plumes and that the tribes of the country
are “warlike, tall, well-built and fond of feasting, hunting
and drinking in the manner of the ancient heroes of the
long-haired Achaeans”, their lords live in “great hill-top
palaces girt with tall walls built by the Cyclopes” and
that the people “honour Chthonic gods unknown to the citizens of
the cities of Hellas”.

c.
337 BCE: Alexander the Great is said to have campaigned against a
number of tribes of the region. These are listed as being the
Goganidae, the Calippians and the Donantae.

281
BCE: an army sent by King Pyrrhus of Epirus is defeated by the
Goganidae in a battle in a place known as Xalippium.

87
BCE: The tribes of the north are defeated and subjugated by the
legions of Gaius Hilarius Pollo.

86
BCE: The region is split into two provinces, Syldavia Superior and
Syldavia Inferior. The cities (colonia) of Klovinus (Klow) and Istriodunum (later Istrow, modern Istow)
are founded by veterans of Legio XXXXII Invictus.

171
CE: An incursion by the Marcomanni and Quadi lays waste to much of
Syldavia Superior. The tribes are defeated in 172 CE by a Roman army
led by Quintus Nasus Pendulus.

268-270:
Syldavia Superior and Syldavia Inferior become part of the
shortlived breakaway Imperium
Illyriorum. This is ended when Gaius Fabulus Maximus
defeats the pretender Marius Asinus Fatuus.

271:
Gaius Fabulus Maximus is raised to the purple by his legions. Six
months later he is defeated in battle by the Emperor Aurelian and
commits suicide.

306:
Severus II orders
the rebuilding of the walls of Klovinus, which had fallen into
disrepair.

313: Constantine the Great visits Istriodunum and dedicates a temple
to Sol Invictus and to the Kyrios Christos. A plaque celebrating
event this is now in the Museum of Antiquities in Klow.

329:
Both Syldavian provinces are incorporated into the praetorian
prefecture of Illyricum.

379:
Syldavia Inferior is laid waste by Gothic and
Sarmatian tribes. The
Sarmatians settle in the north of the region.

401: The Christian basilica of Christ Pantocrator is built in
Klovinus. This church was destroyed in the earthquake of 1134 and
rebuilt between 1135-44 as the cathedral of St Budvar.

411: A Gothic army attacks the Sarmatian tribes in Syldavia Inferior
and defeats their leader. Gothic settlement follows.

447-8: Syldavia Superior is occupied by the armies of Attila the Hun.

494: The provinces of Syldavia are incorporated into the Ostrogothic
Kingdom of Theoderic the Great.

Early
6th
century: Slavic tribes, described
by Procopius as Sclavini
begin to attack deep into Syldavian lands. By
the middle of the century, Slavic and Avar tribes settle in Syldavia.
The city of Klovinus becomes the capital of the Slavic ruler Budvar
(recorded as Budvarios Sclavenios in a document from the reign of the
eastern Roman emperor Tiberius II Constantine).

614: A document from the reign of Heraclius mentions the visit of an
envoy from “the Klovinioi” to Constantinople. There is also a
mention in the Vatican archives of a mission to “the Klovinians and
Istrovians” by a friar called Mendacius.

723: The Notitia Syldaviarum (copies in the National Library
of Klow, the Bibliotheque Nationale and the Österreichische
Nationalbibliothek in Vienna) proclaims
that the peoples (populi Syldavari)
of Upper and Lower Syldavia are comprised of the Illyrian Ghogs,
the Syldavi,
descended from Romans colonists, the Gothic Tervingi
and the Slavic Istrovni and
Hvegi.

807:
A Carolingian manuscript chronicles the submission of Muscarius, Dux
Kloviniorum to
Charlemagne. The manuscript records that Muscarius rules over the
duchies of Klovinia, Zympathia and Istrovia.

937: Invading tribes of Turkic-speakers sweep westwards from the
Black Sea and defeat the Slavic rulers of Klovinia, Zympathia and
Istrovia.

942: First documented record of the Khanate of Klopçu.

981:
Modbag, Khan
of Klopçu is defeated in
battle by Pandulf of Ragusa, following his unsuccessful siege of the
city. He dies of his wounds and is succeeded by his son Subar.

981-1009:
Subar extends the borders of Klopçu
to the north and west,
capturing the coastal city of Dobronium
from its Lombard rulers and accepts the vassalage of the tribes to
the east of Istrovia.

1009: Subar is assassinated by his son, Grum, who is proclaimed Khan
Grum.

1015:
The people of Klovinia rise up against the rule of Khan Grum and
proclaim their leader Ottonicus, who claims descent from an old Roman
patrician family, Dux
Syldavianum.
An army led by Grum is defeated. Grum is killed. The Khanate splits
into separate entities and by 1024 almost all of old Roman Syldavia
Superior is reunited under the rule of Ottonius.

1125:
The last male descendant of Dux Ottonius dies in a hunting accident
without leaving an heir. His young Venetian wife Caterina Faliero is
locked up in a nunnery by Baron Jaskvar Olmaszny, the most powerful
magnate in the Duchy of Klovinia. Jaskvar takes control of the Duchy but his oppressive rule turns the people against him

1127:
Muscarius
Hivegiorum
(Muskar
Hveghi or
Muskar of the Hvegs), later
King Muskar I, with
the help of Venetian and Carinthian mercenaries defeats
the
last Turkic khan of
Lower Syldavia and
his
army at the
Battle of Zileheroum. Legend
tells that the night before the battle Muskar dreams of a giant black
pelican who flies out of the dawn bearing in its beak a scroll
inscribed
with the words “in hoc
signo vinces nigrum onocrotalus”.

A
cabal of Klovinian and Zympathian nobles invite him to join an
uprising against Jaskvar and after a short campaign Muskar and his
allies are victorious. He marries the widowed Duchess Caterina and is
proclaimed King Muskar I of All Syldavia. At
his coronation, Muskar adopts the black pelican as his coat of arms.

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A few things about me

Yes, I am a female wargamer. There aren't many of us around, but we make up in quality what we lack in numbers.
I mainly play games using the TooFatLardies rules; Chain of Command, I Ain't Been Shot, Mum and Sharp Practice version 2. I've also got the Field Of Glory Renaissance rules but I'm not impressed by them.
I'm currently playing Alien Squad Leader and enjoying that a lot and I'm also getting into Frostgrave, playing a bit of HoTT and developing an interest in Cthulhu games and A Very British Civil War. I'm definitely enjoying painting the larger figures. Now, really liking Congo a lot and looking to start playing Saga now the version 2 rules are available.